With the advent of SLR cameras and smartphones, the world of analog photography fell apart. From the year 2000 onwards, these new devices started to gain ground and the digitization process in this sector seemed unstoppable. This hasn’t changed to this day, but there is one category – that of instant cameras – that seems to have risen from the ashes.
At the turn of the century, Fujifilm chose to keep its range of Instax instant cameras, the main selling point of which was the ability to take the photo and print it on the spot. In those years it didn’t work. With a digital camera, the user could also see the result directly on the LCD screen and the same thing happened with mobile phones, which also offered the option to send photos to friends.
However, after a massive drop in sales, the company saw some resurgence in the use of Instax among young people in major cities in Japan in 2009. This new trend led Fujifilm to sell more than 5 million instant cameras in 2015. In Spain, this category has also been a success for the Japanese company, reaching double digits in the past decade, selling 200,000 cameras and up to a million loads (rolls and paper) in 2019.
This is detailed in an interview with Europa Press, Daniel Pérez, head of the Instax segment in Spain, who hopes to recover from the pandemic (which caused a 23 percent drop from incarceration) to previous years’ levels. “Fujifilm relaunched the camera with a radically new concept and sales rose in a way that could almost be described as miraculous,” they argue against the company, which currently has an 83 percent market share in this product category.
The Spanish manager is optimistic about the future and believes that this type of device still has a place. The event or travel sectors, where experience and the ability to create (or give) a printed image predominate, are good examples of the use that users are giving to instant cameras and could point the way to this recovery. In addition, the pandemic has also pushed Instax ‘online’ sales, reaching 60 percent of the total in recent months.
THE NEW INSTAX MINI 40
In this context, the company has announced the launch of the new Instax mini 40, with a ‘vintage’ design that seeks to capture a more heterogeneous audience (so far most of the audience for these cameras is young and female). In addition to this camera, Fujifilm is also introducing a new variety of instax mini films, the ‘Contact Blade’, which mimics the look of a classic film contact sheet.
“With its classic and elegant style, the new Instax mini 40 is for anyone who likes to take and share photos,” said Toshi lida, president of Fujifilm Europe. Designed to be easy to transport, the camera is designed with a premium texture and fits comfortably in one hand. The glossy black camera body is accented with silver details, resulting in a refined and timeless look. Synonymous with Fujifilm’s iconic approach to the camera design, ”he added.
The new Instax has an auto exposure function that automatically detects the ambient light when the shutter button is pressed and optimizes shutter speed and flash power depending on the scene. It allows even novice users to automatically take photos with adequate lighting regardless of indoor or outdoor conditions, providing instant high-quality photos.
Users can also activate Selfie mode to take self-portraits and close-ups. To do this, they just need to pull the front of the lens after turning on the camera. “This makes it easier than ever to take a selfie and close-up photos,” the company explains.
Instax mini 40 joins a versatile line of Instax instant cameras and printers for smartphones. This new Fujjifilm instant camera will be available for a suggested retail price of EUR 99.99 and will be available from April 21, 2021.